Priti Patel is scouring Australia for Cressida Dick’s replacement.
The Home Secretary has extended the search for Britain’s next Metropolitan Police commissioner Down Under after concluding that an outsider may be needed to break the culture blamed for a series of scandals.
Dame Cressida was granted a two year extension to her contract, despite many calls for her to resign.
Government sources said the decision reflected a lack of suitable replacements, with one saying it was ‘a case of better the devil you know’.
Some senior Tories think Dame Cressida might still be expelled early if Scotland Yard is engulfed by another scandal.
Home Secretary Priti Patel is looking to Australia for Cressida Dick’s replacement. Tipped as a likely candidate is Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll, (Above) who oversaw Australia’s biggest peacetime security operation at the G20 summit in Brisbane in 2014
Priti Patel, Home Secretary (R), with Cressida Dick (L), Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida. She has been subject to widespread calls for her resignation despite receiving a two-year extension to her contract.
Reece Kershaw, (Above), is another possible candidate. He has worked his way up the ranks and served as the Australian Federal Police Commissioner since 2019.
Among those who have caught the eye of British ministers is Mick Fuller, the commissioner of New South Wales Police, whose tough-talking style would chime with Miss Patel’s approach
Andrew Colvin, former Australian police commissioner (Above), is another name that has been mentioned. He transformed the service with the latest technology and has a lot of experience dealing with terrorists such as the 2002 Bali bombings.
The Metropolitan Police commissioner is selected from the ranks of senior officers serving in the UK.
Officials from the Home Office discovered a loophole within the law that allows for the recruitment and promotion of senior officers from the United States and certain Commonwealth nations, including Canada and Australia.
Home Office sources confirmed that Miss Patel is ‘actively looking’ at recruiting Britain’s next top police officer from Australia.
One said: ‘The problem with senior police [here]They all sound and think the exact same. If you want to change the culture – and we do – you might need someone from outside.’
A second source said that Australia’s membership of the Five Eyes security network put them in ‘a very good place’ for compatibility with UK law enforcement.
‘They also have some very robust crime-fighting cops.’
Among those who have caught the eye of British ministers is Mick Fuller, the commissioner of New South Wales Police, whose tough-talking style would chime with Miss Patel’s approach.
Mr Fuller has courted controversy, defending his force’s policy of strip-searching suspects by saying there needs to be ‘a little bit of fear’ of law enforcement.
‘People need to know there are consequences, especially those who are criminals or on the verge of being criminals,’ he said.
The Home Office will have to consider other options if Mr Fuller does not rethink his plans.
Another likely candidate is Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll, who oversaw Australia’s biggest peacetime security operation at the G20 summit in Brisbane in 2014.
After the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service was hit by bullying and sexism scandals, a former detective from the drug squad was called in to help rebuild the service.
Ministers are likely to find her experience of value as they look for the next chief to address allegations of misogyny in the force’s culture.
Discussing her experience, she later said: ‘Jumping from an organisation I knew to one I didn’t know – with people who weren’t happy about me coming – was the toughest time of my career.
‘But all I could do was be honest and say, “we have to take this organisation forward together”.’
Reece Kershaw, a former chief investigator at the Met, worked his way up through the ranks to become commissioner of Australian Federal Police. Michael Outram, the commissioner for the Australian Border Force, is another potential candidate.
Andrew Colvin, former Australian police commissioner, is another name that was mentioned. He transformed the service using new technology and has extensive experience dealing with terrorists, including the Bali bombings in 2002.
While ministers have not rejected a British appointment, they are unimpressed by the available candidates.
Why children shouldn’t have knives or forks
When it comes to keeping young children’s table manners up to scratch, parents seem to have a lot on their plate these days.
It seems that the battle for good behavior during family meals has been won by the youngsters.
A new study has shown that more than half of British children don’t use a knife or fork when eating. The shocking fact that 54% of parents with children aged 4-10 years old admit that their children don’t use a knife or fork properly at mealtimes is shocking. A staggering 60 percent of children eat only with their hands, and nearly a fifth will lick the plate if they get the chance. The study, by children’s cutlery maker doddl, also found 28 per cent of parents admit their children talk with their mouths full, which they would have been told off for doing at the same age.
The study of 1,500 parents found this has effects beyond the family table – as 23 per cent often feel humiliated when at a restaurant with their children. 46% let their children watch TV at the table, while 35% let them use a tablet or smartphone during meal times.
Stacey Zimmels, a speech and language therapist specialising in paediatric feeding, said: ‘The onset of portable screens has replaced the family mealtime in many households’, meaning children ‘can be less exposed to a varied diet and have no demonstration of how to use cutlery’.